Good morning everyone and welcome to another Daily Briefing - thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy! :-)
Today’s top stories:
An awful penalty by Lautaro Martinez as Atleti knocked out Inter to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals [Pictures from TNT Sports]
How close was this Man Utd star to joining Arsenal or Liverpool?
Don’t miss Charles Watts’ first column on all things Arsenal!
AC Milan
AC Milan are closing in on a new deal for 2005 born talent Kevin Zeroli as talks are progressing well with his agent Rafaela Pimenta. Negotiations are underway, it’s expected to be completed soon as Milan trust him for present and future.
Arsenal
Arsenal plan includes David Raya’s buy option to be triggered without any doubt, already decided months ago. Arsenal will invest £27m on that as planned since last summer. Meanwhile, a new deal has already completed for Takehiro Tomiyasu, and a new deal will be sealed soon for Ben White.
Mikel Arteta on David Raya: “I don’t have to see him now, I was convinced that he was going fantastic. You see in the first few days here… his body language, the position that he takes, he doesn’t get very affected and that’s a key quality for a goalkeeper.”
More here on the Raya transfer deal from our new columnist Charles Watts!
Eddie Nketiah is likely to leave Arsenal, but who will they sign up front this summer?
Arsenal have been linked with a host of midfielders, but Charles Watts has singled out the most likely option in his column here.
Finally, will Oleksandr Zinchenko really leave Arsenal in the summer? Charles Watts takes a look at his future and the Kieran Tierney situation in his exclusive column.
Atletico Madrid
What a crucial goal this was from Memphis Depay as Atletico Madrid eventually overcame Inter Milan in their Champions League tie. FT Atletico Madrid 2-1 Inter (3-2 on penalties) [Pictures from TNT Sports]
What a game this was as Antoine Griezmann also got on the score sheet…
Atletico Madrid have now reached seven Champions League quarter-finals under Diego Simeone as manager, having previously only reached that stage five times in their entire history before his arrival.
Barcelona
Xavi: “I’m leaving in June. It’s time for the change for Barca. Before the game you said that against big teams we are not up to it and look at today…If we had lost vs Napoli, you would be writing that I have to leave would be on the street!”
Bayer Leverkusen
Josip Stanisic on loan to Bayer Leverkusen due to expire in June: “What will happen remains to be seen. I have to go back to Bayern. But in football you never know. The business is very fast-moving. One day I’m there, the next day I’m gone. We’ll see.”
Be the first to read EXCLUSIVE NEWS ARTICLES from me, Fabrizio Romano, Christian Falk, Neil Jones, Ben Jacobs, Jonathan Johnson, Charles Watts and Matteo Moretto!
Bayern Munich
Talks between Alphonso Davies and Bayern took place on Tuesday - no agreement yet, with Bayern offering €14m a year, while the player’s agent is asking for €20m a year.
Borussia Dortmund
Jadon Sancho’s goal means 4 goals and 3 assists in his last UCL home games for Borussia Dortmund…and he’d really love to stay at the club. FT Borussia Dortmund 2-0 PSV (3-1 on aggregate) [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Ian Maatsen: “My plan was to stay at Chelsea but with the pressure they are under it is sometimes difficult for a manager to let everyone play…I understand that on manager’s point of view. But I want to play football.”
Bournemouth
What a goal this was by Dominic Solanke as Bournemouth completed a stunning second-half comeback against Luton Town - one of the games of the season! FT Bournemouth 4-3 Luton [Pictures from AFC Bournemouth/YouTube]
Brighton
📰 Roberto De Zerbi has interest from top clubs and Brighton are increasingly fearful of losing him this summer (Times)
Chelsea
Chelsea are super happy with the investment they made on Malo Gusto in January 2023. Real fee spent to sign French RB was £26m, as Chelsea anticipated two clubs from abroad also keen on him. 7 assists, excellent performances and club more than happy with his development.
Noni Madueke has reportedly decided to leave Chelsea in the summer…
Chelsea are looking into the left-backs market for the summer transfer window as Ian Maatsen could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge.
Ian Maatsen: “My plan was to stay at Chelsea but with the pressure they are under it is sometimes difficult for a manager to let everyone play…I understand that on manager’s point of view. But I want to play football.”
Chelsea could face competition from Manchester United for key transfer targets…
Everton
Does it seem increasingly likely that Everton will lose one of their most important players this summer?
Inter Milan
What a start this was by Inter but unfortunately they surrendered their 2-0 aggregate lead. FT Atletico Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan (3-2 on penalties) [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Simone Inzaghi after the game: “This team was not accustomed to losing. Defeat has to hurt, we had qualification in our grasp. I am nonetheless super proud to coach this team. It is disappointing for all of us, but there are 10 games to go in Serie A and we want to achieve a very important objective. The lads have to hold their heads up high, knowing that details make the difference at this level. We should’ve closed the game, we had the chances in the second half. After that, penalties are a lottery and they did better.”
Inter directors had a meeting in Madrid with Lautaro Martinez’s agent to discuss new deal details. Negotiations over salary are proceeding as Lautaro wants to stay; working on key details with more discussions to follow in the next weeks.
Inter CEO Beppe Marotta: “We want Lautaro to stay and sign new deal, he wants the same. That’s crucial. He’s our captain, he loves to stay here at Inter so I don’t see any issue for his new contract — just time to advance at the right moment, no rush.”
Juventus
Dejan Kulusevski: “I had barely started a game at Juventus for six months. You feel terrible because you’ve given your life to play this game, training as hard as you can, and you end up watching players play in your position that are not even wingers. Honestly, I felt embarrassed, even worthless. Some people began saying that I wasn’t good enough, that I was too slow. And it affects you, 100%. It’s normal, it’s human.”
Liverpool
Florian Wirtz to Liverpool - this story doesn’t seem to be going away…
Jurgen Klopp: “Michael Edwards didn’t ask me to stay, because he's not dumb. It was not a subject to talk about. We always had really good relationship. Very good on professional basis anyway. Now he’s back, I’m really happy. I want to see the club in the best possible place.”
Klopp: “Virgil van Dijk is super ambitious and wants to reach a lot of things with the club. The captaincy helped. Took to the role exceptionally well. The whole leadership group stepped up. They all made big steps.”
Luis Diaz to PSG transfer interest seems to be genuine…
Luton Town
Ross Barkley continued his fine form with this emphatic finish, but it ended up being a nightmare for Luton as they lost their 3-0 lead. FT Bournemouth 4-3 Luton [Pictures from AFC Bournemouth/YouTube]
Manchester City
Could Kyle Walker’s future be one to watch again this summer? Fabrizio Romano has the latest in his column.
Bernardo Silva to PSG in this surprise swap deal?
Manchester United
Did Mason Mount really join Manchester United for the right reasons and how close was he to agreeing deals with their rivals?
More on Mount and Arsenal and Liverpool contacts in Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive column here.
Antony has been strongly linked with a loan move to this Brazilian club, but how likely is it?
Despite new rumours, PSG’s position on Marcus Rashford hasn’t changed. They don’t plan to bid, and are not advancing anything, unless they get a clear indication Rashford wants the move, which hasn’t happened to date. Rashford has been on PSG's radar since 2022, they like his profile, but nothing is progressing as of now.
Napoli
Victor Osimhen to Arsenal this summer, or will he be too expensive?
Porto
Several European top clubs were in attendance at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday to keep close eye on Alan Varela. The Argentine midfielder is on the list of many clubs from the Premier League and elsewhere. His release clause is around €70m.
PSG
Despite new rumours, PSG’s position on Marcus Rashford hasn’t changed. They don’t plan to bid, and are not advancing anything, unless they get a clear indication Rashford wants the move, which hasn’t happened to date. Rashford has been on PSG's radar since 2022, they like his profile, but nothing is progressing as of now. They also have plenty of other options on their list, including Victor Osimhen.
Luis Diaz to PSG transfer interest seems to be genuine…
Bernardo Silva to PSG in this surprise swap deal?
Real Madrid
Good news for Real Madrid after this Kylian Mbappe decision…
Tottenham
Dejan Kulusevski: “I had barely started a game at Juventus for six months. You feel terrible because you’ve given your life to play this game, training as hard as you can, and you end up watching players play in your position that are not even wingers. Honestly, I felt embarrassed, even worthless. Some people began saying that I wasn’t good enough, that I was too slow. And it affects you, 100%. It’s normal, it’s human.”
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